Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 27-minute session, Geshe Pema Tsering untangles a confusing translation in the Grounds and Paths text — clarifying that “alternate objects” refers to visualization of the pure mandala and its deities, not external phenomena — before delivering a pointed practical message: students at this stage cannot yet practice the generation stage; they must first develop renunciation, give rise to the mind of enlightenment, and directly realize emptiness. He draws a clear distinction between intellectual understanding and direct experiential realization. The session closes with a lively exchange about whether “this world is perfect,” resolved with a pithy observation: precisely because the world is full of suffering, it is a perfect school — if we already knew everything, there would be nothing to study.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 21 2006 02 09 G and P (2).mp3
UUID: de413553-bbff-4895-adc9-486355bcf4de
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Grounds & Paths (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2006-02-09
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 27.5 minutes
Words: ~1,769
So what of this last paragraph, okay, Geshe-la explained this last paragraph here, accordingly, for mental awareness and strongly engaging alternative objects. So all that is saying is that the this Deity Yoga was engaged in Deity Yoga, how to say, it does not stop the sense consciousness, the sense powers or the appearance of the sense powers, it merely, let’s say, stops the immediate preceding condition to that. And then after one stops meditating on the state of equipoise on the deity yoga, then these appearances will come again, because the immediately preceding condition will come again. So all that is it means to say that it does not stop with the sense power itself. It does not destroy them or makes them cease to exist and so forth.
What’s I did not get what you asked before, Graham? Just sort of commenting on the. You said, but because of being attached to alternate objects, potency is lost, alternate objects appear because the pure is not held. So those okay. This little this little saying, isn’t it?
By conscious of being attached to alternate objects, potency is lost. Alternate objects appear because the pure is not held. So it’s like this text is confusing. The English version is a bit confusing. So I was just asking the meaning of the words in Tibetan, okay?
So what was translated as alternate objects I don’t get it. Anyway, what was translated as alternate objects is actually referring to the Deity Yoga, the pure the visualization of the pure mandala and the deities in the mandala, oneself as a deity. So by consciousness being attached to that, then potency is lost and then the potency of the immediate preceding condition is lost. And then so alternate objects, whatever it is that is so that again is alternate objects are not apprehended because the pure is not held. What they this from?
I don’t get it. Yes. What I was referring here as the is visualization of the mandala in the deities, the pure mandala in the deities. Okay. This this this translation is is is I don’t know.
Something’s wrong here. I don’t know. I don’t see where they got it from. Then the text explains, so then therefore, accomplish the generation stage is that by meditating on those special appearances, which I guess probably this is an English probably the word for special appearance. What is it?
It doesn’t say. Kipa chenpo, exalted appearance. So it is it and then I I ask what is what is translated to here is exalted appearance. What does it mean? It means, again, the pure Mandala and the pure deities on the Mandala.
So meditating on by meditating on that, the way, due to that, one must accomplish by this practice. So then and then it is said in greater stages of the path, the Mantric path that even though things, all objects have not turned into deities, one has given birth to this uncontrived divine pride of the deity, and that is what one must accomplish. Okay? That is what yeah. They said that they need to be established.
The same translation makes me a bit confused. Any questions? So we next time from among the two, right? So there’s no no yeah. You cannot accomplish the generation stage without understanding So he’s saying do not there’s no need to to meditate on on the generation stage.
You’re standing here. There’s no there’s no you don’t you do not need to meditate on generation stage. You don’t need to to practice that. Not only that, you’re not able to do that. What you have to do is meditate on mind of enlightenment and meditate on emptiness.
And then also, we do we cannot give rise to renunciation. So we have to we have to make efforts in in in giving rise to renunciation. So you have to realize. Yes. No.
So, yeah, you have to realize the emptiness. You have to give rise to the mind of enlightenment. And in order to to to be able to bring mind of enlightenment and realization of emptiness about. If you do not have renunciation, they will not come about. So I ask, so there’s a difference between understanding and realizing.
He said, yes, there’s understanding is when you think about intellectually the reasonings and so forth, what is you try to understand intellectually what is meant by emptiness. And then realize is when you see by direct experience, directly realize emptiness. And then I said, so then we must realize it. Is is is that we we need we need to realize it. Is that so?
He says, yes. We must realize it. So this is that now we studied this. We studied about generation stage and the completion stage, but then he says that we studied that for the sake of implanting imprints on our on our mind streams. If we if we try to meditate, if we try to practice this, we won’t achieve anything.
Okay? Anymore? I guess, this environment is very This environment is Yeah. But I don’t understand. Well, what is the question?
Yeah. Guess my question is, you know, I’m saying this environment is will be perfect. The environment that we are in Yes. Is perfect as a school. As a school?
As a school. Ashland. Ashland. Yes. Yes.
Ashland. Yes. And in order to achieve. Yes. I guess so.
Me think. Let me think. You know, I’m talking about the wow. You know, this environment. Yeah.
Yeah. Environmentally out already. It’s already perfect. You think it is already perfect? In no as a, you know, as a school.
You think you think it is as perfect as a school? As a school. Okay. In order to be Buddha. In order to achieve Buddha.
No. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. That’s the question. I don’t actually know what the first bit has to do with the second.
I don’t understand. Yes. I’m I’m I’m, you know, I’m explaining the the, you know, this world is already perfect. Is it? Yeah.
Yeah. Is. Yeah. Perfect environment to learn, is that? Yeah.
Perfect environment is is the the world is in perfect environment to develop into a Buddha. Yeah. Yeah. That’s right. Is that what you’re saying?
Yeah. That’s right. Yeah. So and then question. I I guess it the world is for the topic.
Yes. Reason. Is the within me or I can I can connect the first part of understand the connection between the two? So it’s generated by the mind. So you meditate with the mind, mental conscious.
So it is an internal process. Internal process. Yes. Yeah. Because the mind, which is internal, is creating the mandala.
Okay? Then what you might have is an external representation of the mandala, so it’s going to be easy for you to visualize it with your mind. Is that clear what I’m saying? About Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Mandala? Have you seen? The monks make sand mandala. Yes.
But I I I don’t know about that. Yes. That’s have you seen that? Yes, sir. Yes.
So that’s that’s a sand mandala. That’s an external mandala. So then while observing, looking carefully at that external mandala, the sand mandala, that representation, then you can based on that, you can create one with your own mind, which is internal. Yeah. That can come from internal mind.
Yeah. You have the drawing to help you to create. So it’s like this. So you said that the word is perfect. Okay?
So well, I I don’t know what you mean with perfect. Okay? Just I’m going to explain now. I was trying to explain to Geshe-la what you’re trying to mean. So when we’re talking about this environment that we’re living and ourselves who are living the environment as not pure, okay?
We are not pure because we are contaminated, because we are the environment and everything in the environment is in the nature of suffering. And that’s how they are not pure because everything is in the nature of suffering. So that’s why you visualize, you create a mandala of the world and inhabitants of the mandala as pure, as being uncontaminated, as being not in the nature of suffering. Does that make sense to you? Yeah.
But it might what I mean by, you know, the world is part of this because the world is not pure. That’s why we learn, you know, so much, you know, what is not pure as a, you know, that wisdom of Buddha. If if the if everything is Yes. Because there is suffering that we learn. Yes.
Everything I understand that. Is perfect, not everything pure. Yes. There’s no are so much so many suffering. That’s why.
Yeah. That’s why we we study Buddhism. That’s why what I mean by it is only because it’s not we are learning Yeah. That’s true. It’s like the the god realms.
Very easy going. So the word is perfect because it is not pure. Yeah. Yeah. As a, you know Yeah.
That’s just school. School. Perfect. If this if everything is perfect, you know, nothing to learn. That’s true.
If there is no suffering, nothing to learn. That’s true. So this is exactly. If there is no suffering, if there is no suffering, then there is no need to to learn anything. We learn, we study because we want to put an end to suffering.
Again, I say so then we we study in order to know. So if if if how do you say? If we know everything and we we are enlightened already, we are, like, liberated already, then there is no need to learn anything. There’s no need to study anything. We know everything already.
So we study in order to to be free from suffering and so forth. But if we already know everything, then we are already free from suffering. So because we don’t know everything, because we are learning in order to attain acquire knowledge, meaning we’re not enlightened. That’s why we do it. Yeah.
It’s perfect. So we are If there is no suffering, then there’s no need to study anything. Is is is it hard to study? And he says and Geshe-la answers the question himself. Geshe-la says, so we go through hardships while we’re studying in order to get rid of suffering.
That’s why we’re studying. That’s why we learn the things we are learning. So we have to put an end to suffering. End to suffering. Okay?